One Last Session
by nutterbutterco
Summary: Max, Neil, and Nikki left summer camp as best friends. A few years go by and the campers are now in high school. The same old gang decides to return to Camp Campbell as teenagers for one last year of summer camp before they are considered, "too old" to go there. During this time the campers begin to learn things about each other that they never knew before... Rated M- for stuff
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my first fanfic on this site and I'm super excited to be on here. I hope you all enjoy this story, most of the chapters are done but I'm not done editing them. All characters in Camp Camp (except Bonquisha and Daniel, as well as any other side characters) are included. Nikki and Max are the main focus but I also included shipping Nerris and Harrison, Ered and Dolph, and eventually Preston and Nurf! (Possibly Tabii and Neil but only after the climax of the story). Anyways enjoy!**

Max grumbles as he takes his headphones out, seeing the dreaded, "Camp Campbell" sign fly past the bus window. Max, now 16, was forced to return to the dreaded Camp Campbell, home of David. His parents told him that it would be good to cherish one last year of being a camper or he would regret it. Max normally wouldn't care about nostalgic bullshit like returning to Camp Campbell for, "one last year of fun", but heard that every camper in his old group had the same idea. They all agreed to go and make it the greatest last year at Camp Campbell of their lives! Max was determined to make it a year to remember... at least for David.

After getting off the bus, Max noticed he was the last camper to arrive and was glad of it. He hated having to awkwardly wait for campers to arrive with David. Everyone smiled and greeted him and Max was shocked at how old everyone had gotten. Physically, the most noticeable changes were only on a few campers. Space kid was still really short but got super ripped, which was kind of laughable. Dolph got way taller and was actually starting to get a thin mustache which made everyone slightly uncomfortable. Nerris was clearly still into her enchantress phase. However, she got taller, curvier, and grew her hair out slightly, but wore it in two low buns. Even Max changed in appearance a bit. He sported the same attitude but was much taller. Under his unzipped sweatshirt he wore a loose fitting yellow tank top.

Everyone else pretty much looked the same except for changes in height and hairstyle. Max walked over to Neil who was much taller than a lot of the other campers.

"Hey, Neil."

"Oh, hey Max! It's been a while. How's your summer been?" The tall brunette asked, happy to see his friend again.

"Lame compared to this love fest..." Max replied dully, observing with a disgusted look as everyone hugged each other happily. "Where's David anyways? I'm surprised he's not getting in on this. He usually loves this kind of sappy bullshit, it's like he gets off on it!"

"Eww, Max! And I dunno, I've only seen Gwen so far and she seems very unhappy to see us."

"No surprise there." Both boys chuckle as they remember all the times they tortured their poor councilors.

"Hey, guys!" A familiar girl's voice called. Max and Neil stopped laughing as they watched Nikki walk over. Their jaws dropped at how different she looked in only a few years. Her curly aqua colored hair had grown long so she kept it up in a high pony tail. She still sported her curly bangs and had grown much taller almost as tall as Max! She had also gotten curves which Max would have observed longer if she hadn't noticed him looking.

"Max! Eyes up here. Gosh, it's been a while hasn't it?" Nikki laughed, smiling up at the two boys she cared so much for.

"Yea, sure has." Max said, cheeks growing red slightly from being caught.

"Wow, Nik! You've really changed since we last saw you! How's high school been?" Neil asked excitedly.

"Ugh, the fucking worst! Classes are way too hard to keep up with." Nikki exclaimed.

"Totally relatable." Ered chimed in as she walked past. Ered still looked about the same except that her hair was now wrapped into a high bun. Nikki was about to converse with Ered, the coolest camper in Camp Campbell, when her thoughts were interrupted by a certain red-headed councilor.

"GOOOOOD MORNING CAMPERS!" David called, causing everyone to go quiet. All except for Max who groaned loudly at the sight of David, "the bane of his existence".

"It's so good to have the whole gang of campers I know and love, back together in one spot! Hashtag squad goals! Am I right?"

"Aghhhhhhh! Why?! Hashtags died like 5000 years ago you stupid motherfucker!" Max screamed, burying his face in his hands from cringing.

"...Anyways! I have so many fun things planned for this session, it's gonna be great!" David continued, seemingly unfazed by Max's comment. "But first, let's set up tents and get ready for another great time at Camp Campbell. Ugh, you campers grow up so fast!" David said the last part under his breath as he watched the high schoolers grab their bags and head to the usual spot to set up tents.

Gwen met them all there, reminding them how to set up a tent and then pairing them as roommates.

"Okay, so I get that you guys are probably filled with hormones and gross stuff like that so David and I had to sign a contract saying that you guys wouldn't get up to any... funny business." Gwen cringed at her own words and then cleared her throat. "So, I'm going to split you up, boys with boys, and girls with girls. That's the way that-"

"And what if we're gay?" Preston asked angrily. He apparently came out last year but he was still dorky old Preston so no one wanted to date him.

"Dude, don't make this more complicated. This is how Mr. Campbell wanted it to be so we're doing this his way. You guys were split up this way when you were younger too, so I don't get why you guys have a problem with it." Gwen then began to split campers up. Neil and Max were obviously put together again. Nikki, Ered, and Nerris were all going to share a big tent since they were the only girls. Dolph and Harrison, space kid and Preston were paired together. Nurf got his own small tent because he was a "danger" to other campers even though he was sent to military school for high school and had a much better behavior.

The campers set up their tents and then headed to the mess hall to get lunch and afterward start activities. The first activity was arts and crafts, which only Dolph was fond of. Max, Nikki, and Neil decided it was the perfect opportunity to bail. They ran towards the docks at the lake and sat under a tree so that they weren't noticed.

"I miss sneaking away and trying to escape." Neil sighed, smiling ahead.

"Yea, it really gives you an adrenaline rush." Nikki added.

"Guys, we need to make our last time at this god-forsaken place something to remember! Pretending to run away from camp is just stupid. We should run away for real!" Max exclaimed, receiving confused looks from his two friends.

"Why would we do that? It's our last session at Camp Campbell." Neil explained.

"Yea Max, what gives?" Nikki added.

"We're gonna come back." Max replied, rolling his eyes. "But remember what we found in town? Bars, strip clubs—"

"Technology stores!" Neil cut in.

"Ew... and dress stores." Nikki added.

"We're not going to go shopping for dresses Nikki, trust me. I have a plan."

"Is getting wasted in a bar part of your plan?" Neil asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's part of it. Trust me guys, this will be a night to remember." Max promised, giving a small smirk.


	2. Chapter 2

The trio left late that night and made it to town by asking to hitchhike with a sketchy dude driving a pickup truck. Luckily no one was murdered and the driver ended up being a pretty nice guy. Max was pleasantly surprised that David hadn't spotted them leaving and tried to stop them.

"So where to first, Max?" Neil asked, looking at the small lit up town as he stepped out of the truck.

"I was thinking that we get a couple drinks, steal some bikes to mess around with, then hit up the weird small grocery store and buy a bunch junk food to smuggle back into camp and then eat in our tents."

"What...?" Neil and Nikki asked, sketched out by Max's plan.

"Don't be a bunch of pussy's, come on!" Max pressed, gesturing for them to follow.

"Yea Neil! Maybe it will be fun." Nikki added, smiling at him.

"But Max, they won't serve us, we're clearly under age!" Neil exclaimed as he hesitantly followed the pair.

"Nah, I got a fake ID, and you guys can just say you forgot yours. I've met the bartender before, he's chill and probably won't care as long as we say we have ID's."

"Okay..." Neil gave in, knowing that if all goes south he can just blame Max for everything.

The trio entered the bar. Max immediately walked up to the bartender and sat down.

"Can I help you?" The bartender asked, eying them up and down.

"Yea, my friends and I want some beers." Max sounded so confident as he spoke. Neil and Nikki were very impressed.

"Can I see ID's?"

"Yea sure." Max pulled his out and handed it to the bartender. He stared at it for a moment before handing it back. "My friends forgot theirs, but that's okay, right?"

"Yea sure. What kind of beer do ya want?"

Back at the camp, Nerris lay awake in her sleeping bag. Ered was already asleep as her breathing was deep and slow. Nerris was trying to figure out where Nikki had gone since she hadn't come back to the tent in a while. She decided to look outside and make sure that she was okay, but deep down knew that she probably ran away with Max and Neil. She didn't blame her either. Neil had gotten much taller and Max was actually quite attractive now that he had grown taller and actually gained some muscle.

Nerris also had the sense that Nikki may have feelings for him. Maybe it was her magic senses kicking in, but she could have sworn she saw her staring at him during the camp meeting. Besides, Nikki and Max used to have a thing back when they were kids, at least that's what she had heard. Regardless, she decided to brush the thought away and focus on finding Nikki and a water fountain.

After a few minutes of scanning the campsite with a flashlight and then coming back to her tent to grab a water bottle, she saw a sticky note. It read, "gone out with Max and Neil, be back later, don't call the cops. Love, Nikki". Nerris rolled her eyes, not surprised in the slightest. She then grabbed her water bottle and headed out to find the water fountain in the darkness.

"Hey, Nerris." Someone spoke awkwardly as she passed by them in the dark. She pulled out her flashlight on her phone and was surprised to find her old arch rival.

"Hey, Harrison... haven't seen you in a while." Nerris replied cautiously.

"Sorry, this is really awkward. I-"

"No no no no, it's me who's the awkward one. I'm still trying to let all this nostalgia sink in."

"Yea, same." Harrison said softly. There was a long silence before either of them spoke.

"So are you still doing magic?" Nerris asked.

"Oh, yeah. I go to a really cool school that has classes for that." Harrison gushed.

"Is it Hogwarts?!" Nerris exclaimed. "Because if it is, you don't seem like the wizard type... unlike me of course." The two chuckled at her teasing.

"No, it's nothing that fancy. Are you still into sorcery and stuff?"

"Not as much. I still play the role playing games and stuff, but I'm not as into it as I was back then. I'm still more magical than you though." Nerris joked, giving him a light punch in the arm.

"Yea, haha! In some ways, I guess you are." Harrison said the last part under his breath.

"What?"

"Ah! Umm.. n-nothing. I should probably get back to my tent to get some sleep, it's been a crazy emotional roller coaster today!" Harrison began to back away.

"No, stay its fi-"

"See you tomorrow, good night." Harrison said suddenly as he walked away, leaving Nerris alone in the darkness.

"Goodnight... I guess." She said to herself as she watched his silhouette fade into the darkness. The former, "Nerris the cute" stifled a yawn as she decided to head back to her tent, having completely forgotten to fill up her water bottle.

 **Sorry, this chapter is a little shorter!**


	3. Chapter 3

Max and Nikki were getting completely wasted, laughing at everything and anything. Neil, on the other hand, was taking small sips from his beer. It had only taken an hour for Nikki and Max to go through their beers and then get a round of shots. He felt uneasy and stressed out that this would end badly. Neil was also shocked at how easy it was for them to get so much alcohol, the bartender must not give a shit since it was such a small rural town.

"Guys, maybe let's take a break from this and go outside?" Neil asked cautiously to his two unstable friends.

"Nah, we're just getting started! Plus look at you, you've barely dranken your beer." Nikki giggled out. Neil, cringing from her bad grammar, tried to help her out of her seat.

"What the fuck, Neil, we're just having a good time." Max whined as Neil tried to pull him out of his seat too.

"Well, I'd hate to be the guy who saves you from potential alcohol poisoning." Neil grumbled, tipping the bartender and then dragging his drunken friends onto the street.

"Neil! Why'd you have to- on my god Max, look!" Nikki exclaimed, pointing to a row of motorcycles.

"Damnnnn, we have to go on those, Nik!" Max replied in awe.

"No! No, we don't." Neil replied frantically, trying to turn their attention to something else. "How about we check out the mini mart instead!"

"Ooh, let's look inside and see if there are any tough biker dudes in there!" Nikki screamed, grabbing Max by the hand and pulling him back into the bar. Neil gave up trying and sat down on a bench outside of the bar. _Why do I even care? It's Max and Nikki. They're like the power couple from Hell_. Neil snickered as he thought this to himself, thinking of Max actually dating someone.

A few minutes flew by until Max and Nikki re-emerged from the bar with some drunken bikers. Oh my god they really did it. Neil panicked, running over to stop them from whatever they were planning to do.

"...and so you just shift gears like this and add a little gas. Not much to it." A scruffy biker with a gray beard explained to the wasted teens who were eagerly sitting on a bike.

"Guys! What are you doing?!" Neil screamed, grabbing Max by the hoodie and shaking him.

"Relax, we're just gonna go for a little ride. We'll be fine." Max slurred his words and laughed.

"The hell you are! Get off of that thing, you're gonna get yourself and Nikki killed! Do you even know how drunk you are?!"

"Drunk? Oh shit, right. Nikki, Neil's going to have to drive you. I'm too drunk." Max said, hopping off the bike.

"No way! I'm not driving that thing, and Nikki is just as drunk as you. Both of you need to sit down." Neil instructed, helping Nikki off the bike and sitting them down on the bench.

"Fine, but I wanna go to the super market." Max whined, standing up and walking over.

"Much better." Neil smiled, helping Nikki up and following Max. Once inside Neil watched as his two friends drunkenly roamed the grocery store.

"Hey, Nikki, check it out! Pickle flavored chips!" Max held up a package causing Nikki to laugh.

"Ew! Those aren't meant to be a flavor!" Nikki screamed, laughing uncontrollably. Max laughed with her. Neil sighed.

"Let's head back to camp guys." Neil said, watching as Max purchased the interesting chip flavor and stumbled out.

The trio got back to camp by hitchhiking again, this time with a family of 4 traveling in a minivan. It was intensely awkward and Neil had to apologize for his friends and their odd behavior. Once they arrived at camp Neil stormed off to his tent, done with his friends' behavior.

"Hey Max, we should eat those chips in our tent and try to attract all the birds in the forest." Nikki giggled, leaning on her friend for support.

"Ha! No, I think Neil is mad at us." Max said, feeling a little soberer, "we can still eat them in my tent though. Just don't get caught." The two stumbled their way to Max's tent where Neil angrily sat on his sleeping bag.

"Go eat your chips somewhere else." Neil growled, pulling his sleeping bag over his head.

"Yeah... I should get some sleep. Sober up a bit. Yay, hangovers!" Nikki said sarcastically, beginning to leave Max and Neil.

"Hey, wait." Max caught her arm for a second, causing her to face him again. "I had fun with you tonight. Like real fun, and... I have no idea where I'm going with this, I'm so fucked up." Max rambled awkwardly at Nikki. Something about the way Max spoke to her felt different like he actually cared about her more than usual. She decided to call it a drunken Max moment.

"I'm just as fucked up, if not more. Don't worry." Nikki patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "Whelp, Goodnight!" Nikki called on her way back to her tent.

Max watched her go for a moment and then entered the tent where his angry friend lay.

"Sorry, I can get stupid when I'm drunk." Max apologized, the whole night was fuzzy in his head, but he knew that whatever went down ticked Neil off.

"You're always stupid, but you always seem to come up on top. I just hate mothering you two constantly. It's like nothing's changed since we were little kids." Neil explained, rubbing his temples.

"Uhuh." Max replied, feeling incredibly tired.

"You're obviously not registering what I'm saying." Neil sighed. There was a long moment of silence before Neil broke it, "...you don't like Nikki do you? Like more than friends?"

"What?" Max asked, immediately sitting up as if the question itself was a spark of energy.

"I mean, you came up with these elaborate plans to ruin people's lives back when we were kids, but that was for the sanity of all three of us. But this... tonight... it was all to impress her, right?" Max didn't answer. "Ah, never mind, I dunno where I'm heading with this. It's like talking to a brick wall anyways." Neil cut himself off from the topic and rolled over, positioning himself to sleep.

Max heard his question but decided to lay in the dark and process it as best as he could in the state he was in. Maybe it was just a drunken stupor, but Max actually felt something toward Nikki. Not only had she gotten way hotter, but she became more mature in a weird way. Max liked being able to shout out crazy ideas and have a girl go for it! Even if it was just tonight, Max went to sleep believing that for once in his life he had actual feelings for a girl, and maybe she had actual feelings for him too.


	4. Chapter 4

Nerris awoke that night to the loud sound of the tent being opened and someone stumbling around in the darkness to get inside. She rolled her eyes, knowing it was Nikki, and decided to help her into her sleeping bag.

"Jesus, where were you?" Nerris asked as Nikki got comfortable.

"Hanging with my friends." Nikki breathed.

"Are you drunk right now?!" Nerris asked, raising her voice.

"Shh! Yea a little. We had a bit to drink."

"You and _Max_ right?" Nerris raised an eyebrow, but it was too dark to see.

"What do you mean?" Nikki asked, and she sounded a bit soberer.

"Well I mean it's obvious that you two had a thing back when we were kids. It would only make sense that you're trying to rekindle your love or whatever."

"What?! No, Max and I were just friends." Nikki laughed.

"Oh really? Why the hell would two people get drunk on a Monday night if they weren't into each other?! Besides, according to what I heard, there was more to it back when you were kids..." Nerris declared.

"What did you hear?"

"That Max liked you."

"What?! From who?!"

"I have my sources. But don't worry, you're not alone, pretty sure Harrison has a crush on me." Nerris said proudly.

"Not surprising, you're both magic nerds, but I figured it would end up being an unhealthy relationship based on how intense your rivalry was. It was always who's magic was better, and always a competition." Nikki smirked, knowing she had ticked Nerris off.

"Hey, I'm not that into magic anymore! For your information, I quit. It became an unhealthy and lonely addiction."

"Okay, whelp I'm gonna have a crushing hangover tomorrow so good night." Nikki said abruptly, pulling her sleeping bag over her head.

"Whatever." Nerris sighed and went to bed as well, amused that the topic of Max bothered Nikki so much. She could use this later...

That morning was a brand new day for the campers. Two of which had crushing hangovers but had to fight through the pain.

"GOOOOD MORNING CAMPERS! How is everyone doing today?" David asked happily, everyone grumbled a distorted answer in response.

"Great... okay, well I have an exciting announcement that I think you will all enjoy! The head councilors in each camp, Woodscouts and Flowerscouts alike, all came together and decided that since the whole gang is here... we should have an all camp dance!" David smiled expectantly. However, everyone's reaction was not what he was expecting.

"Are you fucking serious David?! That's the most boring and stereotypical thing I have ever heard of! Why the hell would any of us want to have a dance?! With them, nonetheless! It puts pressure on people to dance with other people, causes anxiety for socially awkward people, and they're just a stupid tradition that everyone hates!" Max ranted, still extremely hungover.

"I'm more concerned with the fact that somehow the other two camps we're rivals with have the exact same campers returning for one last session before deemed _too old_ " Neil added.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, guys. But whether you like it or not, this dance is happening. So get excited everyone!"

"Fuck you, David." Nurf said suddenly.

"Yes, we want no part un this social interaction with de other camps." Dolph added with his thick German accent, glaring at David. Pretty soon the whole camp was in a riot with people throwing rocks and screaming. Nurf tore a log in half with his bare hands.

"Guys, please! Settle down, the dance isn't for another few days. What can I do to make this dance more enjoyable for all of you?" David practically begged.

"Well for starters, I want to pick the music." Max stated, raising an eyebrow to see if anyone would object.

"Fine, but I get to DJ." Ered cut in, smirking at Max who became flustered.

"Okay, that could all work... just be gentle with the equipment Ered, it's the quartermaster's after all.

"Will there be food? Because if so I have a list of snacks that I want to be there." Nurf added, handing David a list. Gwen began to laugh as David got more and more stressed out.

"Will there be a dress code? Because if so, I'm not coming. Dresses aren't my thing and no one can dance in those things." Nerris asked.

"Well it was going to be formal... but yes, I guess we could make it casual." David smiled weakly.

"Yes, unt I would like to be in charge of de decorations." Dolf declared.

"Could I possibly file a temporary restraining order against a certain flowerscout...?" Neil asked, shuddering at the memory of Tabii and her psychotic persona toward getting Neil to love her. If she was at the dance he was a goner.

"Um... I'm not sure, but we can ask whomever it is that's bothering you to nicely leave you alone." David suggested.

"You don't understand, she's insane! I don't feel safe going to a dance knowing that she's there!" Neil cried.

"Okay, is everyone happy?" Gwen asked, ignoring Neil's pleading. Everyone murmured in agreement except for Neil who shouted, "NO!"

"Great. I'm going on my break." Gwen said abruptly, walking back to the head cabin. David decided he had nothing more to say and the rest of the campers dispersed amongst themselves.

"What a load of shit!" Neil spat angrily, approaching Nikki and Max who were standing by each other.

"I know right?! There's a reason why I never went to those things in middle school and still don't. There is no way in hell I'm going to Prom!" Max scoffed.

"You never went to your school dances?" Nikki asked, a bit surprised.

"I went to one once, but it had terrible music and nothing but hormonal teens as far as the eye could see."

"People don't just go to dances to dance you know..." Neil added.

"Oh really?" Max asked with a bored tone in his voice.

"Yea, kids usually grind on each other, do drugs and get drunk in the bathroom." Nikki said sweetly.

"Wait, so they're actually lit? Huh.. didn't see that coming. Well, if I do actually end up going to this thing, which I won't cuz it's lame, you'll probably find me in the bathroom." Max replied.

"Vat are you guys talking about?" Dolph asked, cutting in on their conversation.

"Oh, nothing much." Neil stated, walking away from the group, and back to his tent to sleep off the stress of Tabii and the flowerscouts.

"Huh. Vell, me unt de other campers are going to play some games tonight in de mess hall, care to join?" Dolph asked.

"Depends on what kind of games." Max replied plainly.

"It vas going to be seven minutes in heaven I zink... but ve can always change it."

"Alright... I'm in, but I'm changing the game to something more exciting." Max said evilly. Nikki raised an eyebrow at the two boys, wondering where this was going.

 **Hey, guys! The next few chapters are going to be very interesting, especially chapter 6 ;) Also don't worry, the dance won't be boring or cliche at all (trust me). I would love to hear feedback from you guys too because then I know what you guys want to see more of or less of. Even comment your favorite ship and maybe I'll add it in just for fun!**


	5. Chapter 5

That night became one of the most interesting nights any of the campers had ever faced, for many reasons. It all started with the Camp Campbell campers sitting in a circle on the darkened floor of the mess hall. To make it more eerie, the only thing keeping the room lit were a few candles, illuminating each person's face.

"Alright, is everyone here?" Max asked, leading the group to their demise.

"Everyone except Neil, but I don't blame him, it's been an emotional rollercoaster." Space Kid stated.

"Yea, no shit Space Kid. Anyways... let's get started." Max grinned his signature grin as he rubbed his hands together. "Tonight we're going to start off playing one of my favorite games... truth or dare. This gives us a chance to find out what you guys have _really_ been doing since we last saw each other, as well as what you're _willing_ to do..." everyone gulped and looked at one another awkwardly. "So, who wants to go first?"

"Ooh! Me!" Space Kid called, waving his hand in the air enthusiastically. "Okay uh... Nurf, truth or dare?"

"Uh, dare. Duh." Nurf grumbled.

"I d-dare you to... uh... ooh! I dare you to sneak into David's cabin and flirt with him in his sleep, pretending to be Gwen! Oh, and film it!" Space Kid laughed. Everyone "oohed" expectantly, waiting to see what would happen.

"Sure, whatever, it's not even that good of a dare." Nurf shrugged, standing up and leaving the mess hall. A few minutes went by until Nurf returned with a wide grin on his face. "Bam!" He turned his phone to the side and showed the video for everyone to see:

*Nurf- "Hey babe, you awake?"

*David- "uhuh num ph..."

*N- "it's Gwen. I just came in to say I love you."

*D- "ungh... I l-love you too..."

*N- "I always have but I'm way too socially awkward and dumb to admit it. I know you're hard for me David. I know you have deep dark sexual fantasies about me. Just admit it."

*D- "Y-yes, oh Gwen... mmmm."

*N- "let it out David, get it all out in the open."

*D- "I want you to be with me, Gwen."

The video then cut off. Nurf still wore his devilish smirk while everyone tried their best to stay quiet while laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh man, that was so good! Good call, Space Kid!" Preston exclaimed, punching him lightly on the arm.

"Eh, I've done worse dares. But now it's my turn... Ered! Truth or dare?" Nurf asked, looking over at the tall blonde.

"Oh, definitely a dare." She responded, nodding her head.

"I dare you to lap dance on... Dolph!" Everyone gasped at Nurf's words. Even Ered looked a little taken back. But nonetheless, she got back her cool composure.

"Cool." She stated, walking over to Dolph who Nurf had seated on one of the mess hall benches. "I need some music though."

"I got ya covered." Nurf snickered turning on the cliché song, grind with me by Pretty Ricky, making the dare so much more awkward. Ered did it anyways, starting by sitting on Dolph's lap facing him. He blushed, trying his best to act as if it wasn't a big deal. He'd always sort of liked Ered.

She began by moving her hips back and forth, but then rotated them around as she tilted her head back. She ran her hands through her hair and bit her lip seductively as she grinded. Then she stood up a bit more and came close to his face, moving his hands up so that they grasped her hips. Through all of this Dolph was trying his hardest to keep from getting a massive boner. Ered then made one last move, leaned in to kiss him but stopped just before and pulled away, leaving Dolph speechless.

"Is that good enough?" Ered asked, facing Nurf. She didn't look flustered at all, not even the slightest blush was on her face.

"Uh, yeah." Nurf said, mouth agape just like everyone else in the room. People were taking their dares very seriously.

"Okay, now it's my turn. Preston! Truth or dare?" Ered asked.

"Truth!"

"Okay, if you could pick anyone in this room to fuck for one night only, no strings attached, who would it be?" Ered and everyone watched as Preston carefully scanned the room.

"Um... oh god! This is so embarrassing and nerve wracking! I LOVE IT! I'd have to go with Harrison, not because he's the most attractive, but because he's the nicest guy here. Nurf and Max would be too dominate and Dolph and Space Kid wouldn't be dominant enough." Preston explained

"Now I want to know who you think is the most attractive." Harrison chuckled awkwardly.

"Ha! You'll have to wait until it's your turn to ask." Preston teased. "But if you must know, of the boys here, it's definitely a tie between Max and Nurf. Let's be honest here guys, they both got tall and toned… well so did Space Kid, but it looks awkward as hell! Okay, now let's see... Space Kid, truth... or dare?!" Preston asked dramatically, ignoring the reaction he received from Max and Nurf. Max flipped him off while Nurf looked down at the floor awkwardly.

"Ooh, uh, dare!" Space Kid replied energetically.

"I dare you to take off your helmet and keep it off for the rest of the game!"

"No! That would kill me! I don't know if I can breathe without it on! There has to be another way!" Space Kid pleaded, shocked.

"Not unless you're a chicken!"

"Noooo! Ugh, okay. But if I die I blame you." Space Kid proceeded to slowly take off his helmet, shocking everyone that he would actually do it! Once it was off Space Kid held his breath until he gasped for air. "Good lord! I can breathe!" He exclaimed causing everyone to laugh. "But for how long...?" He sounded worried.

"You'll survive." Max stated, slightly annoyed by how clueless he was.

"Whelp, I guess it's my turn again. Um... Dolph! Truth or dare?" Space Kid asked.

"Truth." The German boy replied.

"What is the best food at Camp Campbell?"

"Boo! Lame!" Everyone shouted at Space Kid.

"Aw, I mean... um... ooh, what did you think of Ered's lap dancing...?" Space Kid asked, afraid of what kind of reaction it would get. Everyone seemed satisfied with the question since it caused Dolph to turn beet red.

"I, err... I thought it vas very impressive. She has so much confidence." Dolph answered vaguely, causing the other campers to protest. Even Ered leaned in, wanting to hear more.

"Tell us more!" Preston demanded.

"I thought she vas good at it...?"

"BOO! WEAK!" The campers shouted, causing Dolph to wince. He didn't want to ruin his chances with Ered and knew that by saying how he really felt would make him probably die of embarrassment. But if he didn't give them a satisfying answer he'd be seen as weak by the rest of the campers!

"Come on Dolph! Just fucking spit it out, it's not that hard!" Max cut in, causing even more uproar by his peers.

"I VINK SHE IS VERY COOL UND ATTRACTIVE OKAY?!" Dolph screamed out, causing the room to go silent. Dolph opened an eye to see Ered sitting in total shock. "Let's just move on, please!"

"Okay dude, chill." Nurf said, patting him on the back. "You get to ask whoever's next a super embarrassing question, okay? Then you won't be the only one."

"Fine. Max. Truth un Dare?" Dolph was glaring now.

 _Oh_ _god_. Max thought. "I'm gonna regret this... dare?"

"I, Dolph, dare you, Max, to only say nice things and act nice for de rest of de game or you will have to drink an entire bottle of hot sauce." Everyone snickered at the thought of Max being nice.

"Fine. Doesn't sound that bad."

"I'm not finished." Dolph stated. "You must act nice and say nice things... while sitting next to Space Kid."

"Goddamn it!" Max grumbled as he moved next to Space Kid who yelled, "yay!"

"If you screw this up for me, I swear I'll-"

"Ah!" Dolph wagged a finger at Max who had begun to threaten Space Kid.

"I mean, I totally won't hurt you in any way or make you suddenly disappear from camp." Max forced a smile. "So now it's my turn... Harrison, truth or dare?"

"Uh.. you scare me, so truth!" Harrison cringed.

"First of all, I need you to swear that you won't lie."

"I won't lie, I swear."

"Okay, great. Do you like anyone here in this room, and if so, who?" Max smiled evilly as he watched the magic boy's face grow red.

"I, uh.. oh god."

"Dolph admitted it. So can you."

"Oh jeez. Yes, I have begun to develop feelings for a certain person at Camp Campbell."

"Yes, and?" Max egged him on.

"It's me right?" Nerris asked plainly with a bored facial expression. Immediately, everyone's eyes turned on her.

"Um, yeah. How'd you guess?" Harrison's face turned even redder.

"It's so painfully obvious that even Space Kid would have noticed. Plus I don't blame you, someone like me is hard to find. But I don't like you back, no offense, you're just not my type." Nerris stated, acting way too cocky.

"Oh." Harrison said sadly. "Well, Nikki, truth or dare?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

"Truth, but one sec Harrison." Nikki replied, turning her attention to Nerris. "Why are you so rude?"

"Why are you turning this on me? Do I _have_ to like him?"

"It's not that big of a deal. Don't worry about it, Nikki." Harrison cut in, looking at the floor.

"Ugh. Whatever. You're lucky I'm in a good mood." Nikki threatened, receiving a rude gesture from Nerris.

"This truth better be good Harrison." Max stated, getting a look from Dolph that indicated he needed to rephrase his request. "I mean, here, let me help you figure out a good truth to ask Nikki." Max used a great deal of sarcasm in his voice.

"Ok sure." Harrison responded, allowing Max to whisper something in his ear. Harrison blushed, laughed a bit, and then turned to Nikki. "How far would you go with someone?"

"...like sexually?" Nikki asked. Harrison nodded. She looked over at Max, confused, but he just signaled for her to answer. "I dunno depends on how much I like them. If I'm dating them and am super into it then I'd probably go all the way."

"Wow, nice." Harrison said as everyone in the room either laughed, gasped or murmured amongst themselves. Nikki looked over at Max who probably didn't hear her answer or care enough to look over. He was preoccupied, trying his hardest not to punch Space Kid who had decided to lay his head on Max's lap.

"Alrighty, now it's my turn to get revenge on a certain person... Nerris, truth or dare?" She smiled evilly at the doomed camper.

"Dare. I'm no wimp." Nerris crossed her arms.

"I dare you to kiss Harrison on the lips!"

"I hate you." Nerris stated plainly.

"Nikki! Why'd you have to drag me into this?" Harrison asked, fear in his eyes.

"Because she needs to learn a lesson on how it feels to be brought down from her pedestal."

"What?!" Harrison exclaimed. "Nerris you don't have to if you don't want-"

"No, I'll do it. I'm not a chicken, but _she'll_ be." Nerris threatened before shoving her lips on the nerdy teen that sat next to her. Everyone's jaws dropped, not expecting such a reaction. Nikki, however, was dreading her decision to fuck with Nerris. Now she knew she'd get tortured.

Nikki began to panic: The safest option was to pick truth... but wait, what if she made me tell everyone how I feel about Max, or what we said to each other in secret when we were kids?! After all, I really _do like Max, but don't know what to do about it. Maybe she was expecting me to choose truth. Choosing dare may throw her off. Besides, I can handle kissing Max in front of everyone because I wouldn't have admitted to liking him! Yes! I would choose dare. Bring it on Nerris._


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter is pretty spicy! Get ready for some Max and Nikki stuff. There is no smut in this chapter but in the future, if there is, I will leave a warning at the top of the chapter. Enjoy!**

"...okay Nikki, truth or dare?" Nerris glared at her evilly after breaking the kiss with Harrison who was left beet red and in a daze.

"Dare." Nikki said in full confidence, expecting Nerris to be caught by surprise. But this only made Nerris's smile grow bigger. Nikki became nervous.

"Ohoho, Nikki... I almost feel bad for you." The tension grew and Nikki's stomach was in knots. She looked over, nervously, at Max who was still preoccupied with getting Space Kid off his lap… nicely.

"Spit it out already, what's the dare?" Nikki asked, wanting to get whatever it was over with as soon as possible.

"I dare you to go into that closet over there, with Max, and play 7 minutes in heaven. If you don't come out of that closet looking like you've _done_ _some_ _shit_ , you and Max will have to make out in front of all of us for 10 seconds." Nerris began to laugh evilly as everyone "oohed" at them.

Max perked up upon hearing his name, "say what now?"

"You're playing 7 minutes in heaven with Nikki or else you have to make out for 10 seconds in front of us." Nerris repeated, causing Nikki to cringe. Meanwhile, Dolph watched Max, making sure that he reacted nicely to the dare.

"That's just fucking dumb- not!" Max suddenly noticed Dolph. "Not dumb at all, perfectly acceptable and Nikki and I will go do that now. _Fuck_ _you_ , _Dolph_." Max said the last part under his breath, causing Dolph to call after him. Max didn't want to hear it so he grabbed Nikki by the arm and quickly shoved her into the closet, closing the door behind himself.

"Ow." Nikki stated, rubbing her arm.

"Sorry, but I'm not drinking an entire bottle of fucking hot sauce." Max stated, sitting down on the opposite side of Nikki.

"So I guess we're supposed to do stuff in here for 7 minutes or else... total embarrassment." Nikki said quietly, straining to see in the pitch black closet.

"Yeah, you really fucked up back there by messing with Nerris. She always takes stuff wayyy to seriously."

"No shit." There was a long moment of silence. "I'm sorry I got you into this Max, it wouldn't have happened if Nerris didn't think I liked you."

"Why would she think that?" Max raised an eyebrow. Was he _that_ obvious?

"Apparently she heard about what we said to each other as kids. That you liked me and wanted to hang out more when we were older. It's not even that big of a deal!"

"Yeah... that's Nerris for you." Max lightly chuckled. There was another long moment of silence before Nikki decided to move closer. Her heart began to beat faster as she reached out into the darkness to find Max, touching something warm and soft. She didn't know why she felt the urge to do what she did, perhaps it was just wanting to get it over with, or maybe it was pent up emotions. Regardless, Nikki felt around more, trying to see what she was touching until Max flinched.

"Ow, Nikki that's my eye." Max chuckled awkwardly as she apologized and moved her hand down to cup his face. She then moved her other hand up to feel through his curly black hair. Nikki knew she was blushing and was grateful that the closet was pitch black. Max was too, knowing he'd be way more awkward or standoff-ish if the closet had light.

"Back when we were kids you said you liked me... were you telling the truth or just messing with me?" Nikki asked, moving her body closer so that she was sitting on his lap while facing him.

"Mm.." Max let out a small noise that Nikki barely registered. He liked the new contact on his body and wanted more but was too nervous to take it further. "I was always an asshole I guess, I never really processed my emotions that well. In fact, I didn't really think I cared about anything or had emotions until I got to know you better."

"Not surprising." Nikki laughed, moving both her hands down to his shoulders, feeling his structured torso. "I'm not too excited about making out in front of an entire group of campers so what should we do?"

Max's face heated up at her question, "I... whatever you want." He moved his hands onto her hips since she was straddling his. Then he moved a hand up to touch her face and play with her curly bangs.

"Okay." She whispered in the darkness, moving forward and feeling his breath on her face. Nikki sat there for a moment, knowing his lips were inches away from her own. She ran a finger over them to confirm, causing him to smile. Max decided to make the next move and close the distance between them, pressing his lips gently against hers. They stayed like this for a moment. Nikki moved her hands behind his head, pulling him closer while Max put his back on her hips, slipping under her shirt and feeling her smooth back.

Nikki took this as a sign to push it further. She began kissing him harder, opening her mouth slightly, teasing him to open his. He did and they began to slowly explore each other's mouths. Neither Max nor Nikki had ever done this sort of thing before, but Max had seen it done a million times on TV and Nikki had been kissed once by a random boy in the halls of her high school. Their breathing became faster as the kissing deepened. Nikki felt her stomach doing flips and even some heat in her lower area. Max also felt this but tried to ignore it, knowing 7 minutes wasn't much time.

Nikki broke the kiss and began to kiss Max on his neck. He didn't expect this but it felt too good to protest. She knew she gave him a hickey which was good enough proof so that Nerris wouldn't be able to double cross them and make them make out anyway. While sucking his neck, Nikki moved her hands under his hoodie and tank top to feel his toned body which he always hid under his hoodie. Once she moved her hands from his chest all the way down to just above his jeans, Max lost it. He quickly put Nikki on the ground so that he was on top. She laughed as he did this, causing him to blush as he realized what he was doing.

"Sorry." He said, sitting up only to have Nikki grab him by the collar and pull him back down.

"I don't care." She kissed him again. Max began to move his hands under her shirt till he reached her bra. He was about to take it further when someone knocked on the door. Both of them immediately sat up and straightened out their hair and clothing.

Suddenly an unexpected voice called out, "Is anyone in here?" It was David! Nikki and Max quickly covered their mouths, praying that he wouldn't catch them. "I could have sworn I heard something." David said to someone else in the room. Another muffled voice was heard a distance away, most likely Gwen's. The sound of footsteps retreating and a door closing was music to the two teen's ears. They both breathed a sigh of relief and listened at the door to make sure they had left.

"Jesus Christ, what's he doing here?!" Max whispered angrily. Nikki didn't respond but slowly opened the door and peeked out. The entire mess hall was empty, meaning that the rest of the campers must have heard David coming and fled. Nikki crept out, seeing that the coast was clear, and Max followed. They then stood upright and closed the closet door, exiting the mess hall.

"That was a close one!" Nikki breathed, wiping off a band of sweat from her forehead.

"So all of that was..." Max's words drifted off quietly, not looking at Nikki.

"What?" She asked, looking over at him.

"Never mind. Look, it's late and I'm tired. I'll see you tomorrow." Max suddenly left her. Nikki stood there confused but decided to wait till tomorrow and see.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, just letting you know that there is one part toward the end of this chapter that has spoilers for the season 2 finale so if you haven't seen it, watch it! Or just don't read that one part. I'll give a warning just before it happens.**

The next day Nikki woke up bright and early, eager to see Max. She knew it was nothing too serious yet, but that was the furthest she'd ever gone with a guy before. Nikki always liked Max and found him cute, but she never thought he'd actually like her back like that. She blushed as she remembered the events of last night and wondered how far he was actually about to take it. Right before David knocked on the door he felt her bra and was probably about to... Nikki smiled to herself as she thought of this and then hurried to the mess hall for breakfast. Upon entering she saw Neil, looking down at his pancakes sadly.

"Hey Neil, what's wrong?" Nikki asked, sitting across from him.

"Well for starters I didn't get any sleep last night because I kept having stress dreams about Tabii strangling me. I can't get her out of my head! I think I'm going insane, Nikki!" He cried, burying his head in his hands.

"Aww, Neil, Tabii may be obsessed with you, but that's just because she likes you! Maybe if you give her a chance she'll-"

"I'm just gonna stop you right there. She is the enemy and I'm not having relations with the enemy! It's suicide! Ugh, I'll just hide deep in the woods so that David can't find me and force me to go to that stupid dance." Neil declared, slamming his fork into the table. Nikki gave a look of concern toward Neil before noticing a certain dark haired boy enter the mess hall. Max wore his signature facial expression which intimidated everyone except for Neil and Nikki.

"Hey Max, sit over here!" Nikki called. Max looked over but didn't address her. He walked over to the coffee machine next to where the quartermaster was serving breakfast and poured himself a cup of black coffee. Max then made his way over, sipping it a little before sitting down next to Neil instead of Nikki.

"Morning." He said plainly to no one in particular. Nikki began to notice that she and Max were getting a lot of glances from other campers. Suddenly Nerris approached the table.

"So, how'd last night go? It's a shame we had to evacuate before your 7 minutes were up but I guess we're gonna have to fall back on the second half of the dare." Nerris explained with a grin on her face.

"I'm good." Max said grumpily, pulling down his hoodie a bit so that Nerris got a clear view of the hickey Nikki had given him.

"Wait, what? So you guys actually..."

"Yeah, so go away." Max waved a shocked Nerris away. She was so confident that nothing had happened, and that they would come out of that closet in the mess hall as quiet and awkward as when they'd gone in. Max pulled back up his hoodie as he received more stares and murmurs from other campers who saw the hickey too.

"Wait, Max what?!" Neil asked, suddenly much more awake. Max didn't verbally respond but gestured at Nikki.

"We were dared to do 7 minutes in heaven or else we'd have to make out in front of everyone." Nikki explained, taking a bite of her pancakes.

"You and... Max?! Since when do you care about this sort of thing?!" Neil asked the dark haired boy who just shrugged.

"Who says I do? Maybe I did it because we were being threatened and I didn't feel like showing fake PDA during a stupid game."

"You still didn't have to do it though, no one can see you in a closet." Neil explained, sipping his orange juice.

"Jesus Christ Neil! We didn't do shit! Nikki gave me this so that we wouldn't have to make out in front of everyone!" Max pulled down the collar of his hoodie to show the hickey to Neil.

"Oh. Sorry... for some reason I thought you guys would do more. Nikki really gave you a good one too." Neil laughed awkwardly at the hickey.

"Yeah. Whatever." Max covered his neck up again and went back to drinking his coffee. Meanwhile, Nikki just stared down at her plate, not sure what to say.

Later that day the preparations for the dance were being made. Dolph began yelling at people, while standing on a table, to work faster on the posters they would hang up on the mess hall walls. Ered watched Dolph intently, finding his display of dominance to be very attractive. Ered still wasn't sure how to react from his confession to her last night. She never really thought of him like that and hadn't even understood why on earth he would like her. Sure she was the coolest camper there, but she always considered herself to be a tomboy that guys would admire but never become attracted to.

"What are you staring at?" A familiar girl's voice asked from behind. It was Nikki.

"Oh, hey Nikki. Nothing, I'm just bored." Ered lied, looking away from where Dolph stood.

"C'mon, I'm not dumb Ered, and I know you. You're a really bad liar. What's bothering you?"

"I guess I'm just confused about the whole Dolph, telling me how he felt, thing. I'm just so used to being seen as 'one of the guys' that it's kinda weird to think that someone actually wants to date me."

"Well, who wouldn't?! You're the coolest, Ered." Nikki said smiling.

"Thanks, Nikki."

"So what are you going to do now?" Nikki asked, looking over at Dolph who she noticed had stolen glances of Ered while they were talking.

"I dunno... I guess I'll just ask him about it later."

"Would you _want_ to date him?"

"I think so, I'm not opposed to it. I'm still trying to figure out if I'm super into him or not." Ered explained, sighing.

"I know how you feel."

"Really? With who?" Ered suddenly became more energetic.

"Did you not hear the whole 7 minutes in Heaven thing I had to do with Max last night?" Nikki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, I sorta stepped out after the lap dancing thing. It got a little boring. So wait… you like Max?"

"Yeah, a little. Don't tell anyone about this, by the way, I'm already getting bad attention about this as it is."

"My lips are sealed."

"Great! Well, I guess he liked me back when we were all kids and I never really thought much of it until recently. He's changed so much since I last saw him and I've got to admit, he got much more attractive."

"I agree with you there." Ered laughed.

"Ha! So we kinda hooked up last night in that closet and-"

"Wait, you actually went through with it?!" Ered squealed.

"Well yeah, we both liked each other... I thought. That's just the problem, he's sending me mixed signals. Maybe it's just me but he's being very distant with me today and acting as if nothing happened. I'm waiting to see how he acts tonight."

"I get that. Maybe he thought it was just a hookup."

"Yeah. Maybe." Nikki said sadly. Maybe she should forget about it and act normal.

That evening Max sat in his tent by himself. He'd left early from dinner because he didn't want to see Nikki. Max didn't know why but he felt like he'd been lied to. His whole life he felt like he didn't matter to anyone, even his own parents hardly cared what he did or where he went. Not that he complained that he had no curfew and could go to as many parties as he wanted, but Max still wanted his parents to say something. One time he smoked weed right in front of them, hoping to get a reaction, but all they did was wave him away to go outside. They were always busy with work and never had any time for him.

Max felt like nothing would ever matter to him since he didn't matter to his own parents. Why should anything matter? When he was sent off to summer camp this year he decided to forget about the one thing he looked forward to almost every summer when he was a kid, Nikki. Despite trying to stay away he got closer to her than he ever thought he would. Last night hurt him because he knew that she wouldn't understand what she meant to him. After all, he was just a forced hookup thanks to a dare. Nikki never seemed to like him more than just friends, and even if she did like him like that he wouldn't know what to do. All Max did was push people away because it was easier. He was always afraid to date because his parents had such a terrible marriage that he felt he was destined to hurt whoever he ended up with. Max knew he'd hurt Nikki, and maybe it would be better for her to date someone who didn't have a fucked up family dynamic, low self-esteem, and a lack of empathy or positive emotions in general.

Suddenly, Max heard his tent open as someone entered.

"Hey, Max." Neil said, sitting down on his cot and taking off his shoes.

"Hey."

"You left dinner before I even sat down, are you doing okay?" He sounded concerned.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Max said, blinking away tears that had begun to form in his eyes.

"No, you're not. Is this about Nikki?"

"Neil, it's literally fine, don't worry about it."

"Well, if you need someone to talk to, I'm pretty much the most qualified person here. I mean, if you think you've got girl problems, I've got Tabii to worry about..." Neil laughed, causing Max to smile a bit.

"There's tons of shit going on in my life so there's nothing I can't handle."

"Max… I know you think that because your parents don't care, nothing should matter. It's quite obvious that you have a fear of getting close to people. I have the same problem except reversed. I'm afraid that no one will want to get close to me because of my crazy parents. My dad is a fucking loser and my mom is just too controlling. They're honestly the reason why I'm still single." Neil chuckled,

*Spoiler in the paragraph below. Nothing in there is super vital to the plot except extra information on parents *

"If you're worried about getting close to Nikki because you think you're going to hurt her or because you don't think she likes you, which she totally does, you shouldn't worry. Nikki's tough and would be a great support system considering her mom is the most insane parent of all. She tried to fuck my dad for his money!"

*End of spoiler*

Max stayed quiet, wanting the conversation to end.

"You deserve to be happy. Your parents shouldn't keep you from liking someone or dating them." Neil added.

"Stop trying to act like David. I don't need your help with this." Max stated angrily.

"Then what are you going to do? Ignore Nikki and pretend nothing happened? She cares about you!"

"No, she doesn't. I'm a forced hookup! Did you know that was my first kiss?! I wasted it on a dare! I wasted it on a girl who doesn't give a shit about dating guys like me. I'm the emotionally constipated guy-friend who watches as the girl he loves gets with someone else and completely forgets about them. The same thing happened with my dad. He just settled for my mom because his parents sucked too! He thought he wasn't good enough for anyone… I'm the same as him. FUCK THIS!" Max suddenly punched the wooden table sitting in the middle of the tent.

"Max…"

"No. Don't try to help me. I know I'm not supposed to care about shit like this. Who the fuck cares about bullshit like their first kiss?" Max had started crying, but he tried his best to keep his voice steady despite how shaky it sounded.

"I'm sorry. I wish things could be different for you…"

"…Me too." Max said quietly in the dark.

"Be nice when you talk to her about it, though. It could really hurt her." Neil added before going to sleep and having the worst stress dream of his life. Max, however, didn't fall asleep much that night. He just laid awake, staring at the dark tent ceiling and thinking about Nikki. He kept imagining seeing her at the dance. She wore casual attire that showed off her figure and her face immediately lit up when she saw him. Nikki would grab his hand and lead him to the center of the dance floor where she would wrap her arms around his neck and whisper sweet nothings in his ear. Max knew it was stupid to imagine something that wasn't going to happen, but he liked to do it because it made him happy. He imagined running his fingers through her curly hair and kissing her lips again… Max smiled as he finally went to sleep.

 **This chapter is so emotional! It was actually one of my favorite ones to write! Let me know what you thought. I also just want to thank you guys for all the support and love I've been getting on this story! It's been so fun to write, and chapter 8 will be out shortly. Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

During the final evening before the 'All Camp Dance' tomorrow night, the Camp Campbell Mess Hall was being decorated by Dolph and a few other campers. Nerris and Harrison were among the lucky few kids who were forced to decorate under Dolph's rule.

Still shocked that Max and Nikki went through with her dare, Nerris had completely forgotten what had happened between Harrison and her. Harrison, however, had fallen for her even more now that she'd kissed him, but he was unsure how to handle it. Nerris had made it clear that she didn't feel the same about him, but maybe he could try making an effort to impress her rather than sit around with a painful crush.

"Need help with that?" He asked weakly, noticing Nerris was struggling to hang a giant poster up by herself.

"No. I'm perfectly capable of putting up a poster, Harrison. Just because I'm a mortal girl doesn't mean I'm-" The ladder, Nerris had been standing on, wobbled underneath her when she turned to look at Harrison and she lost her balance, falling backward. Harrison caught her before she hit the ground, only to fall onto his back from the sudden weight in his arms. He broke her fall, but it knocked the wind out of him.

"Jesus! That fucking hurt." Nerris grumbled before looking down at the boy she nearly crushed. "Thanks for breaking my fall, Harrison." She extended a hand to help him up.

"No problem." He wheezed out, grabbing her hand and pulling himself up.

"Oh shit, did I knock the wind out of you? Sorry!" Nerris suddenly became a little concerned that she'd broken his rib cage or something.

"No, it's okay. I'll catch my breath in a second." Harrison gasped out, breathing short breaths before finally being able to breathe normally. They took a seat on a nearby bench and sat there for a moment.

"I'm sorry." Nerris said again.

"It really wasn't your fault, I was just-"

"No, I meant I'm sorry for being mean to you... for everything actually. It was rude of me to have humiliated you in front of everyone during truth or dare. I know you liked me, and I just laughed at you for it. You probably don't like me anymore, but I still want things between us to be good. We've always been enemies." Nerris was blushing while looking at the floor. Harrison smiled.

"I'd like that. Can we hang at the dance?"

"Sure, why not? Maybe that will make it less terrible." They both laughed a bit at this before Nerris climbed back onto the ladder. "Spot me, okay? Then I won't fall and die."

"Okay, sounds good." Harrison laughed, watching the most beautiful girl he'd ever met climb up the rickety old ladder.

/

During the whole ladder fiasco, Preston, a member of the dance preparation team, decided to slip away. Since he was a man of theatre and needed absolute control over any and all artistic processes, Preston Goodplay found himself unneeded by the dance preparation team. He exited the mess hall while Dolph continued to yell orders at the other campers, and walked toward the docs for some fresh air. To his surprise, however, he wasn't alone. Nurf was already sitting on the edge of the dock on the lake. Preston decided that he'd join him, considering that he saw Nurf as a non-violent functioning member of society.

*ahem* "Hello, Nurf." Preston announced, not sure what kind of reaction he would receive.

"Oh, hey." Nurf turned his head to look at Preston. Nurf was much taller now and as Preston eyed him he admired how much weight he'd lost and how much muscle he gained. The dude had a fucking 8 pack!

"Did you escape from the 'Dance Nazi' barking orders at everybody? Dolph is taking his leadership way too seriously." Preston told the red head.

"Oh, that? Yeah. I left like 5 minutes after we started. Decorating isn't my thing." Nurf responded. Something was clearly on his mind.

"I'm a bit of a control freak so it got a bit stressful for me when Dolph completely ignored everything I said." Preston grumbled, suddenly noticing Nurf's mood. "...I'm not one for deep conversation but I noticed you seem out of sorts. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. It's just that I'm still struggling to establish with everyone that I'm not a bully anymore. I mean, I'm the quarterback on my high school's football team, I've got straight A's, and I may receive a scholarship to this really nice college. I didn't ever think I could afford to go to one! But no matter who I am outside of camp, in this place I'm just the bully whose mom sits in jail and whose dad abused him when he was a kid. No one sees the real me." Nurf explained sadly, looking up at Preston for support. Preston was shocked at how openly Nurf talked about his problems. He always was open as a kid, but Preston was still surprised.

"I'm sorry. I don't think of you that way at all." Preston lied, taking a seat next to Nurf. He'd always been beaten up by Nurf to the point where he had stress dreams about him for two years straight. However, Nurf was a new man now and Preston could see that he had truly changed.

"You don't mean that, but it feels good to hear." Nurf said sadly.

"I'm not gonna lie, you did really fuck me up as a kid. You constantly hurting me mentally and physically really did a number on my self-esteem. But I see you now as this mature, kind, and pretty damn attractive guy who's gotten his life straightened out. I'm glad I talked to you today or I probably would've been too scared." Preston confessed, causing Nurf to laugh a bit.

"Did you really mean what you said two nights ago?" Nurf randomly asked.

"What did I say?"

"During truth or dare, you said that Max and I were the most attractive guys at Camp Campbell. Was that true?" Nurf had slightly pink cheeks now.

"Oh, haha! Yeah, I was telling the truth. You guys both gained height, looks, _and_ muscle." Preston began to laugh really hard as he started blushing profusely.

"Oh my god, haha! No one's ever said that to my face before. Usually, people are too embarrassed or afraid of me or something."

"Yeah, well... that's Preston Goodplay for you."

"Wow, you're awkward. Are you going to that stupid dance?" Nurf asked between laughter.

"Possibly, it holds promise since Max is picking the music and Ered is being the DJ."

"I guess I'll go if you're going." Nurf stated, causing the dorky brunette to look over at him confused.

"Err... just because everyone else here hates me." Nurf quickly turned away, mentally slapping himself for acting so weird toward Preston. He was acting like he had a crush on him or something... Nurf's face fell as he thought this but snapped out of it when Preston asked him something. "Whatdja say?"

"I said, I wouldn't mind the company. People find me weird and annoying so I figured I'd be dancing alone for a while before ducking out early."

"Oh, I'll see you there then." Nurf smiled, receiving a genuine smile back instead of the usual forced one he'd get from the other campers.

Preston decided to head back to his tent and get some sleep since it was getting late. Something about Nurf intrigued him like he was a cliff that Preston could either walk away from or jump off of. Preston smirked since he knew the choice was clear, all he had to do was jump.

/

Meanwhile across the lake…

The Flowerscouts groaned as their Garden Mother reminded them about the 'All Camp Dance' and how they were expected to behave. None of them were excited about going since they didn't know anyone there. Tabii, Sasha, and Erin, however, knew exactly who would be at the dance and were very excited for what they were going to do there...

"Okay girls, let's run over the plan one last time." Sasha stated, looking over at her two friends. They had slipped away after the Flowerscouts meeting to go over how they were going to sabotage Camp Campbell during the dance.

"First Tabii and I will go into the dance, and like, mingle a bunch with the other campers to make sure that, they like, know we're here." Erin said.

"Meanwhile, I will be like spray painting 'Camp Campbell sucks' next to a giant dick on all of the Camp Campbell buildings." Sasha explained, getting a high-five from Erin.

"And I will find Neil and _make him mine_." Tabii stated with an evil grin on her face.

"No Tabii, stop obsessing over him. You've been like this since we were like 11, literally he doesn't want you!" Sasha exclaimed.

"Yeah, Tabii. I bet 10 bucks that he like won't even kiss you." Erin added.

"You're on. He'll totally kiss me once he sees how sexy I am." Tabii protested, moving her hands over her curves to prove her point.

"Whatever. Anyways, this plan will finally get us revenge on those stupid Camp Campbell losers and those stupid Woodscouts who we can place the blame on." Sasha said.

"Yeah. No one would suspect the super-hot Flowerscouts to have vandalized and pranked Camp Campbell." Erin snickered. This would lead to a very eventful evening…

 **Ooh, the plot thickens! Also, Yay! Preston and Nurf! I like this pairing because Preston was paired with Nurf during the platypus egg episode and I thought it would be ironic that they'd end up liking each other, despite how abusive their relationship was. Also, Nurf had explained to Neil that he already explored his sexuality during the A.I episode which means that it wouldn't be unrealistic if he and Preston actually did get together (which I am totally rooting for!) Next chapter will be out either this evening or tomorrow since I usually write at night. Thanks, guys!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I am so sorry for the long update! I got so busy all of the sudden and had such little time to write and edit this chapter, so in order to keep it up to my standards, I had to spend an extra day or so on it. This chapter is going to introduce the origin of the climax and next chapter is going to lead up to it. I hope you enjoy this extra long chapter I've prepared (It is still shorter than a lot of other fanfics out there, but it is quite long for this story). Thanks!**

Nikki left the mess hall late that night. Not only had she talked to Ered but she ended up helping Space Kid put up streamers, which was a whole ordeal. Nikki was glad to finally be out of there and get some rest, however, something was nagging at her mind, like she'd forgotten something. Just then she caught a glimpse of a certain someone passing by and the realization hit her like a truck. She had forgotten about Max, the one thing she'd been talking about with Ered for hours! Nikki knew she had to talk to him, to say something! However, she was afraid of what he would do. Whenever someone brought their hookup up he either got angry at them or dismissed the conversation entirely. Nikki thought maybe she did something wrong, but she had to be certain. She had to know if she wasn't just a hookup.

"Max! Hey," Nikki caught up to him as he was about to enter his tent. She touched his shoulder lightly, causing him to freeze. Max closed his eyes and sighed.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to talk to you, do you have a minute?" She asked, his back was still turned to her.

"I... if this is about what happened in that closet..." Max couldn't finish his sentence, it hurt him too much to think about.

"What else would it be about?"

"I don't know." He sighed, turning to face her. Max looked defeated and sad, his usually bright energetic green eyes were dim and facing the ground.

"It's been bothering me too. I'm just afraid that you-"

"Took it as more than just a hookup? Nikki, I get it. I'm not a guy you'd actually consider to date... you're probably into way less fucked up guys anyways. None of this would have happened if Nerris hadn't forced us into doing it." Max said sadly.

"No! Max, that's not what I was going to say!"

"Then what were you going to say?!" Max snapped, causing Nikki to jump. "That you want to do it again? That I'm easy to use, since it's not like I have a chance with any other girls on this planet?! And even if you did like me, what the fuck do you think's going to happen?! I'm not the dating type, Nikki. There's a reason why you and Neil are my only friends here, because all I do is push people away."

"You haven't pushed me away." Nikki said quietly, looking into Max's eyes. He didn't respond and looked away for a moment.

"I... I'll just hurt you, Nikki."

"We don't have to date, Max. We don't have to do anything if you don't want to. We're still young and we've got our whole life ahead of us to be afraid of commitment... I'm not looking for anything serious until college, to be honest. I won't get hurt by you if we hookup in a closet one time or hang out at the dance. You're only a teenager once, enjoy it! Fuck commitment right now, let's just have fun." Nikki was smiling now. Max was surprised at how easily all his stress went away as Nikki explained how simple their hookup really was.

"I really like you Max." Nikki continued. "I wouldn't have hooked up with just _anybody_. I always kinda wanted to do that with you." Nikki was now blushing, causing Max to blush too.

"Me too." Max said, a small smile on his face. "It all seems so much simpler now. Why the fuck was I even worried about this?" They both laughed.

"Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Nikki said, beginning to walk toward her tent.

"Yeah, tomorrow. Wait, Nikki!"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks... for everything I mean."

"Of course." Nikki smiled, getting into her tent.

/

The next day was a whirlwind of preparations for the dance which was that night. Ered was introduced to the DJ'ing equipment reluctantly by David while Max went through his phone to compile a playlist of bangers for Ered to play.

"Now Ered, be very careful with the equipment, it's the Quartermaster's so if you break it... just don't break it." David warned, wincing at the thought of what the Quartermaster would do to him if it were broken.

"Yo, chillax, this is gonna be dope as fuck." Ered stated, messing with the mix table.

"Yeah, David. Plus I made a playlist of some great music that's gonna keep this dance from being lame." Max cut in, handing his phone to Ered who plugged it into a laptop.

"Okay... well if you ever get tired of doing this during the dance, the Quartermaster is more than happy to take over, right?" David asked the Quartermaster who had suddenly appeared next to David.

"Sure." He replied.

"Great! Whelp, only a few more hours till the other camps arrive. We're right on schedule and just about ready to kick off this dance."

While David spoke, Ered decided to do a test run and began to play one of Max's songs, pressing random buttons to remind herself of what they did. Everyone suddenly turned their attention toward her as the song, "I Don't Fuck with You" by Big Sean drowned out what David was saying.

"MAAX!" David called as the camper tried to sneak away.

"Dammit." Max said to himself angrily. The music finally cut off when Ered was satisfied with the controls.

"What's with the music? Those lyrics are far from camp appropriate." David asked.

"Calm down, we're all practically adults here. It's not gonna kill us to hear good music at a dance for once."

"Good music doesn't have to have the 'F' word in it a million times."

"What would you rather us listen to? Farmer's almanac?" Max laughed, causing others to laugh with him.

"No, but I would prefer if you would have a clean version for at least half of the songs on there. Maybe play some throwbacks." David stated.

"Fine, whatever." Max grumbled, walking over to his phone on the DJ stand. Nurf followed him.

"Psst! Even if the music's lame I'm gonna sneak vodka into the fruit punch, so it's gonna be fun regardless. Plus if we get David drunk maybe we can get some real music going in here." Nurf said quietly to Max who was now grinning ear to ear.

"Perfect."

/

The dance started as soon as the sun went down. The Woodscouts showed up right on time and hardly mingled, except for Jermy Fartz and Pikeman who noticed Gwen in the corner almost immediately.

"Hello Gwen. I didn't expect to see you here..." Pikeman said, creepily putting his hand around her waist.

"It's an all camp dance, hosted by Camp Campbell, why wouldn't you see me here. We literally talked on the phone a week ago discussing whether or not the Woodscouts would show up." Gwen said as she slapped his hand away.

"Oh, well I guess I didn't recognize your voice or expect you to still be working here."

"I'm 30 years old and still haven't been hired for a single job, of course I'm still working here. What are you still doing here? Aren't you in like college or something? There's like wayyy better jobs you could be doing." Pikeman didn't respond, he just awkwardly backed away.

Max was watching the whole exchange from a distance. He was leaning against a wall, bobbing his head slightly to his own music which David made him play clean versions of. It ruined most of the songs since half the lyrics were cut out. However, the whole dance floor was slowly coming to life as campers like Space Kid, Harrison, Dolph and a majority of the Woodscouts were dancing to the music.

"Great party, huh Max?" David asked as he walked by.

"Go away, David."

"Great party, huh Gwen?" David asked, walking away from Max quickly. Max rolled his eyes and then looked across the dance floor. Neil was leaning against a wall too, looking around nervously.

"Yo Neil!" Max called, getting the tall brunette's attention and gesturing him over. Neil obeyed and walked over nervously.

"Hey Max, did Nurf spike the punch yet?" Neil asked as he stood next to his friend.

"I dunno, probably. Anyways, why are you so nervous?"

"Why the hell do you think?! Tabii is coming tonight and is probably going to ruin this whole night for me."

"She can't ruin what's already terrible. She'll make it more interesting, that's for sure."

"Ha! Yeah right." Neil grumbled. "Oh, I forgot to ask how your talk with Nikki went. Are you guys still good or..."

"Oh, yeah. Basically we're not gonna date since we've got all of college to get serious so we're just gonna hang out and see what happens." Max explained.

"Okay, just don't get her pregnant." Neil said suddenly.

"What?!"

"Well you said that your just gonna _'see_ _what_ _happens'_ which obviously means that you guys are _'friends_ _with_ _benefits'_. All I'm saying is be careful, while in theory, hooking up without commitment is nice, in reality, it gets complicated. Feelings will get in the way, trust me."

"Woah! Who said we were fucking?! And how the hell would you know what it's like?"

"My parents had the exact same problem. One of you is going to like the other more than the other likes you. This will lead to one of you feeling used and the other feeling pressure to date when they don't want to. It's a never ending cycle of despair and heartbreak. I won't judge you if you go down that path, but by not dating, Nikki may end up being with other guys while also being with you. If that's what you want then-"

"Dude stop. I don't need a life lesson to add to the stress levels I already had. Just let me have this. We can talk later." Max stated angrily, cutting Neil off.

/

Nikki and Nerris were still getting ready in their tents.

"Are you going to grind on Harrison?" Nikki asked as she put on some red athletic pants and a loose-fitting crop top.

"What? I dunno, probably not. I don't think he's into that kind of thing. Max is though, what are you guys going to do now that you're basically official?" Nerris asked mockingly.

"We're not official and I doubt he likes dancing."

"Ah, how tragic." Nerris said sarcastically, putting on a pair of black sweatpants and a fitted blue shirt that was slightly cropped, showing off her decently toned stomach.

"Can we just be friends for one night? I feel like we don't have the best relationship right now." Nikki asked, her back turned to Nerris as she decided if she wanted to keep her hair up or let it down.

"Perhaps. But only if you apologize for making me kiss Harrison."

"Ha! I'm not going to apologize for something that needed to happen."

"Then neither will me. If anything, I helped you and Max! Sure, it would have happened eventually, but thanks to me you've got a boyfriend now." Nerris laughed, letting her curly hair out of the two low ponytails she kept it in.

"Okay… ok, ok, ok, we could go on and on about who's right and who should apologize, so let's just forget about it. Forget about the dare, the closet, the _embarrassment_. Let's just have fun tonight, as friends?" Nikki asked, looking over at Nerris.

"Fine. Okay. Ha! You know what's funny?"

"What?"

"I think I figured out why we were never really friends before. Remember back when you, Neil, Harrison and I were sent to stop the mountain from blowing up? Harrison was always impressing you with his tricks. Even before that he was teaching you his magic and letting you in on it... I must've been jealous. Not because Harrison was teaching you his lame magic, but because you could get any guy you wanted. You were way more outgoing than I was and it made me feel lonely."

"Oh, I never noticed that before. I didn't even realize that Harrison liked me. He definitely likes you now, when it really counts, though."

"Yes. True. Well, I agree to be friendly with you tonight, but if I don't see Max's tongue in your mouth at any point during the dance, there's going to be some confrontation." Nerris joked.

"Okay stop." Nikki laughed.

"What?! You guys are kinda cute together... not gonna lie. Don't tell anyone I said that!"

"Lips are sealed." Nikki said, pretending to zip her lips and lock them. The two girls then exited their tent and made their way to the mess hall. The music was so loud that the bass could be heard 30 feet away!

Max was still leaning against the wall, glancing at the door now and then to see if Nikki was there yet. Neil stood beside him, using Max as a shield so that if Tabii came in she wouldn't see him right away. Just then a song started playing that Max knew wasn't on his playlist. It was "Partition" by Beyoncé which must have been Ered's, because when he caught her eyes she just gave him a shrug and continued to jam out to her music. Max rolled his eyes but then caught himself staring wide eyed as Nikki walked in. She looked gorgeous as usual, but Max had never seen her with her hair down before. Nerris was there too.

No words were said as Nikki went straight up to Max, grabbed both his hands and led him onto the dance floor. Max wasn't really into dancing so he awkwardly stood there trying to figure out what to do. Eventually, adrenaline did the work for him, but he just hoped for everyone's sake that they didn't give him shit for it later.

"Oh my god, you guys are a thing?" Max spoke too soon as an all too familiar voice asked the dreaded question.

"Sasha?" Nikki asked, looking for the source of the voice.

"In the flesh! How are you guys, like doing?" Sasha, main bitch of the Flowerscouts, asked.

"Good...?" Max answered confused as to why she was talking to them.

"Great well, Erin and Tabii are here too, so have fun mingling!" Sasha had shoved Erin and Tabii in front of them and then disappeared into the crowd.

"Hi, bye." Erin said, walking over to Nerris and Harrison.

"Where's Neil?" Tabii asked hungrily. Max and Nikki decided to ignore her and continued dancing.

Neil however, panicked as he saw the dreaded blonde enter the room.

"There you are my sweet." Tabii said, now suddenly standing behind him.

"Ahhh! Get away!" Neil screamed, shielding himself from her.

"Playing hard to get huh?"

Meanwhile a slow song began to play. While Tabii tried to force her hands onto Neil's shoulders, Nikki frowned at Max.

"I hate these cheesy slow songs. Let's do something else."

"Yeah... these aren't even my songs anymore so I'm free game." Max said shrugging. "Ooh, I almost forgot, let's try the punch."

"Why?" Nikki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nurf spiked it." Max laughed, running over to it, dumping some in a clear plastic cup and taking a swig. "Yup. It's subtle but a few of these are sure to get you drunk as fuck. Let's fuck up David!"

"Ha! That's hilarious!" Nikki laughed for a moment before realizing Max was serious. "Err... Max, I'm not sure you should... actually whatever, it's probably fine."

"That's the spirit!" Max said, imitating David. The two of them found a giant red solo cup in the kitchen and filled it up with the punch.

"Hey David, we just wanted to thank you for setting up this awesome dance for us!" Nikki said smiling as she handed the unsuspecting councilor the cup. Max watched from afar since he knew David would get suspicious if he had given it to him, himself.

"Aw, thank you Nikki. I'm glad you're enjoying it." David said, taking a small sip. "Thanks for the punch, I was starting to get pretty thirsty." He clearly didn't notice anything odd about it since he continued to drink it without questioning her.

"Yup, okay bye!" Nikki said, running back over to Max who was laughing hysterically.

"That was crazy, Nikki! Let's see what kind of a drunk David really is."

"Yeah, that was pretty crazy, but I have an idea that's even crazier." Nikki said, clearly hinting at something.

"Sounds intriguing." Max said, smirking.

/

Outside Sasha was spray painting the sides of the buildings, amazed at how good she could do graffiti.

 _This will show those stupid ass Camp Campbell kids and those loser Woodscouts_. Sasha thought to herself as she stood back to admire her work. She suddenly remembered Max and Nikki on the dance floor and snickered as she knew exactly how to piss off the camp even more.

Walking back into the dance, Sasha had no idea what she had started and how far it would go...

This was the event that started the ultimate 'War of the Camps' which would change the dynamic between the three camps forever.

 **A lot happens and a lot will continue to happen in this story, but due to my busy schedule expect delayed chapters. I will do the best I can to update quickly, but I love the support and love you guys have given this story. It already has over 1000 reads! See you guys next chapter!**


	10. Sorry friends

Hey guys. I know I said I was planning to continue the story and your constant support and kind words have made me so happy! This story has been a huge success, especially since it's my first on here, but I still haven't gotten back into it I don't want to keep making promises I can't keep because that's not fair to you guys, so it might be a loooooooong time before I update this story again. I tend to circle around and get into things again, but right now I am obsessed with My Hero Academia so I've been spending all my time working on a new fanfic about that. I am so sorry to leave you all in the dust for so long, but I'm sure you all can relate when you go through phases and then the phase goes away and you get into another one. I am constantly getting into new shows and characters, so I'm sure Camp Camp will return to my profile one day. I actually attempted to write a chapter for it, but I fell short because I wasn't feeling it anymore. I love you guys and I hope you guys can forgive me If you like My Hero Academia let me know because it's actually happening! I've already written 2 chapters for it and am currently working on my third, but I want to write the whole fic before I post so that I don't get writers block again and abandon the story! Love you guys!

3 nutterbutterco


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